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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio field hockey team (3-8, 1-2 MAC) is set to continue the 2017 season on Friday (Oct. 6) when the Bobcats host MAC opponent Longwood (9-2, 2-0 MAC) at 5 p.m. before traveling to Bloomington, Ind. to compete with Indiana (5-7, 0-3 B10) on Sunday (Oct. 8) at 2 p.m.

REWINDING LAST WEEK The Bobcats came out with a win after the sixth weekend of the 2017 season, posting a 2-0 shutout over conference-opponent Central Michigan on Saturday (Sept. 30).

The Bobcats would secure the win on two goals from Maria Russell (Hudson, Ohio), the senior would score both goals on send-ins by Kendall Ballard (Charlottesville, Va.) to finish the play and tap the ball in goal.

Russell would record two goals for the Bobcats along with three shots to earn a .667 shooting percentage on the game. The senior also garnered four points in the contest. Ballard would lead the way in shots with six on the day and one assist as well as two shots on goal. Freshman Samara Schratz (McMurray, Pa.) would record two shots on the day with one on goal. Leah Warren (Hamilton, New Zealand) would record one shot and one shot on goal on the game while Claire Buckey(Powell, Ohio) added one shot.

Alex Pennington (Easton, Pa.) finished the match with three saves. The junior also allowed no goals in her 70 minutes of work.

The Bobcats would record 14 shots on the game compared to the Chippewas' five. Ohio would also win the corner battle 5-4.

MACMILLAN RETURNS FOR 13TH SEASON Neil Macmillan is at the helm for his 13th season at Ohio. The Portsmouth, England, native sports an all-time record of 131-121 and has led the Bobcats to four MAC titles, 2006, '07, '09 and '11, during his tenure. He is the longest-tenured head coach in Mid-American Conference field hockey and notched his name in the record books as the all-time winningest coach in Ohio field hockey history last season.

SEASONED VETERANS The Bobcats return junior Kendall Ballard (Charlottesville, Va.), who earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference and Second Team All-Region honors while she also earned a spot on the U.S. U-21 National Team with USA Field Hockey. She led the Bobcats with a career-high 12 goals, 28 points, 55 shots and 31 shots on goal. Ballard also finished tied for second on the squad in assists (4), which was also a career-high. Ballard finished in the top-10 in the Mid-American Conference in shots (9th), points (5th), goals (5th) and assists (10th) during the 2016 season.

Senior Maria Russell (Hudson, Ohio) also returns to the Bobcat lineup for 2017. She received Second Team All-MAC recognition following the 2016 season. Russell finished in a tie for second on Ohio with six goals and was second on the squad in shots on goal with 15. Russell also ranked third on the team in shots (21) and points (14) while adding two assists to bring her career total to three. Russell now has 20 career goals to start her senior season.

BOBCATS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN MAC PRESEASON POLL The Ohio field hockey team has been picked to place fourth in the league standings in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches, the league office announced.

The Bobcats received 19 points to tie with Ball State to finish fourth in the poll.

Defending league champion Kent State was picked to win the MAC by way of 41 points – including six first-place votes. The Golden Flashes were also picked to win the conference's tournament championship. Miami garnered 35 points to place second in the poll and also received one first-place vote. Longwood would fall in the third spot with 25 points.

Appalachian State and Central Michigan each tied for sixth place with four points each to round out the poll.

LONGWOOD SCOUTING REPORT The Lacers are currently 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. Longwood has posted notable wins over Villanova, Dartmouth and Georgetown and fell to No. 25 American 2-3 in an overtime match on Sunday (Oct. 1).

The Lacers are ranked first in the MAC in shots with 195 on the season, averaging 17.73 per game. Longwood also leads the way in points, goals and goals per game with 31 goals thus far in 2017, registering an average of 2.82 goals per contest. Leonie Verstraete leads the way for the Lacers in the MAC in shots with 69 on the season and shots per game with 6.27. Verstraete also leads the conference in goals with 11 on the season and has recorded six game-winning goals.

In goal for the Lacers, Katie Wyman has recorded 36 saves and a .766 save percentage along with a 9-2 record.

Ohio and Longwood are currently tied at 2-2 in the all-time series. The most recent contest between the two squads came in the 2016 season where the Lacers would take a 3-1 win in Farmville, Va. to break the Bobcat's win streak in the conference. Russell would score Ohio's single goal on the game on a quick shot in the front of the net. Scorers for the Lacers included Ellen Ross, Edel Nyland and Verstraete.

INDIANA SCOUTING REPORT The Hoosiers are currently 5-7 overall and 0-3 in the Big 10. Indiana is coming off of a four game losing streak, the most recent was a 2-3 loss to Saint Louis. Ohio defeated Saint Louis 6-1 in the first game of the season this year. Prior to the match with Saint Louis, Indiana faced three teams in the top 25 including Rutgers, Monmouth and Iowa.

The Hoosiers have recorded 155 shots so far this season along with 80 shots on goal. Indiana has tallied 22 goals on the year and average 1.83 goals per game. Leading the way for the Hoosiers is Maddie Latino. Latino has recorded nine goals on the year as well as 36 shots and 25 shots on goal.

In goal, Katie Johnson has recorded 59 saves and a 4-7 record on the season.

Indiana leads the series with Ohio 6-5. The last time the two squads faced was in the 2016 season. The Hoosiers would earn a 3-2 overtime win on the road. Ohio scored two goals in the first half of the match before the Hoosiers tied the game up in the second to push the game into overtime. Kristen Buchanan and Ballard would score for Ohio to lead the match 2-0 going into halftime. Katie Barber would score both goals for the Hoosiers in regulation and she would also strike the ball to win the game for Indiana in the first minute of overtime.

UP NEXTAfter the weekend, Ohio will return home for the final time this season to continue the conference portion of the 2017 schedule, hosting Ball State for a mid-week matchup on Thursday to celebrate senior day. The match is set to begin at 5 p.m. at Pruitt Field.